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In the Kitchen

Gran Cocina Latina, The Food of Latin America

Maricel E. Presilla

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Antarctica

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

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Our Favorites

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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Tuscany

Every Day in Tuscany, Seasons of an Italian Life

Frances Mayes

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OUR FAVORITES

Great Cities

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

The Great Cities in History

The Great Cities in History

by John Julius Norwich

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

Each city is magnificently illustrated in color and with an essay by diverse dignitaries, including Jan Morris (New York), Colin Thubron (Samarkand), Simon Schama (Amsterdam) and Michael Coe (Angkor). This inspired book depicts the rise and fall of cities from Mesopotamia through ancient trading centers to Medieval Europe and today. (WLD171, $45.00)

Paris to the Past, Traveling Through French History by Train

Paris to the Past, Traveling Through French History by Train

by Ina Caro

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

The infectiously enthusiastic Ina Caro charts 25 day trips from Paris in this marvelously conceived history and guide. From the splendor of Chartres, wonders of Sainte-Chapelle and elegant Place de la Concorde, Caro enchants. (FRN953, $17.95)

The Innocence of Objects

The Innocence of Objects

by Orhan Pamuk

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 264 PAGES

Pamuk combines old movie stills, photographs of mundane objects, family portraits and other ephemera of everyday life in this illustrated portrait of his beloved Istanbul. (TKY267, $35.00)

Absolute Monarchs, A History of the Papacy

Absolute Monarchs, A History of the Papacy

by John J Norwich

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

A natural storyteller matched with a brilliant subject, Norwich chronicles with obvious delight the politics, personalities and power across two millennia of ecclesiastical history in this riveting history. (ITA347, $20.00)

Jerusalem, The Biography

Jerusalem, The Biography

by Simon Sebag Montefiore

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 650 PAGES

Montefiore tells the history of a Holy City, focus of struggle between the Abrahamic religions, the place of prophets and patriarchs, Abraham, David, Jesus and Muhammad, with grace and balance, tracing the story of Jerusalem through the lives of men and women. (ISR99, $20.00)

Rome

Rome

by Robert Hughes

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

Opening with his arrival in Rome in 1958 as a wide-eyed young Australian, Hughes takes in the art, architecture, sculpture and life of Rome, past and present, in this splendidly written, sweeping tale of the beloved city, including memorable portraits of important characters from Caesar to Cicero, Mussolini and Fellini. (ITA267, $18.95)

 
The Encyclopedia of New York City

The Encyclopedia of New York City


by Kenneth T. Jackson | New York Historical Society

  • REFERENCE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 1600 PAGES

The more than 5,000 alphabetical entries and 700 illustrations of the second edition of this fantastic reference has everything you've ever wanted to know about New York City. (NYC12, $65.00)

Cities of the World

Cities of the World


by George Braun

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 501 PAGES

This dazzling portrait of the 16th-century world is a sumptuous reprint of the 363 stunning color plates from Braun and Hogenberg's survey of town maps, city views, and plans of Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America, first published in Cologne in 1572-1617. With dozens of unusual details, two folding maps, as well as selected extracts from the original text and an in-depth commentary. (WLD194, $200.00)

The Cairo of Naguib Mahfouz

The Cairo of Naguib Mahfouz


by Naguib Mahfouz

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 112 PAGES

Around the old city in the footsteps of the Nobel laureate. Photographer Britta Le Va and Mafouz's lifelong friend Gamal al-Ghitani warmly depict Gamaliya, the neighborhood at the historic heart of old Cairo, in this photographic walking tour and tribute to the great Egyptian novelist. With excerpts from his works and 80 color photographs. (EGY401, $29.95)

The Cities Book, A Journey Through The Best Cities In The World

The Cities Book, A Journey Through The Best Cities In The World


by Lonely Planet Publications

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 888 PAGES

An eclectic roundup of 200 cities from London, Paris and New York to Bamako, Chiang Mai, and Nuuk. (WLD83, $24.99)

The Taste of Conquest, The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice

The Taste of Conquest, The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice


by Michael Krondl

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Weaving travel and history, Michael Krondl a world where pepper, cinnamon and cloves were as valuable as gold -- and Venice, Lison and Amsterdam jockeyed for global control. (EUR279, $16.00)

Cities of the World, A History in Maps

Cities of the World, A History in Maps


by Peter Whitfield

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

Peter Whitfield's handsome A-to-Z illuminates the development of great cities from Amsterdam and Cuzco to New York and Venice through stunning maps, plans and paintings from the British Library, where he is a curator. (MAP21, $50.00)

Sites of Antiquity, From Ancient Egypt to the Fall of Rome

Sites of Antiquity, From Ancient Egypt to the Fall of Rome


by Charles Freeman

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 248 PAGES

Enticing aerial shots, detailed site plans, glorious modern photographs and illustrations illuminate 50 key monuments, cities or sites of the Mediterranean world, from Giza, Luxor and Karnak to the Parthenon, Ephesus, Pergamon, Petra and Constantinople. (MED150, $50.00)

St. Petersburg, Architecture of the Tsars

St. Petersburg, Architecture of the Tsars


by Dmitri Shvidkovsky | Alexander Orloff

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1996
  • HARD COVER
  • 360 PAGES

This definitive book presents Baroque masterpieces of Peter the Great, Neoclassic confections of Catherine the Great and Art Nouveau glitter of Nicholas II in splendid color photographs. (RUS152, $95.00)

Venice 697-1797: A City, a Republic, an Empire

Venice 697-1797: A City, a Republic, an Empire


by Aluise Zorzi

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 303 PAGES

Zorzi reveals the growth of Venice from a small fishing village to a bustling metropolis whose cultural, political and economic dominance extended over the entire Mediterranean world with this sumptuous collection of 340 color paintings, photographs and drawings. (MED186, $75.00)

World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites


by UNESCO Publishing

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 872 PAGES
  • NEW

How many have you visited? This beautifully illustrated compendium, just revised, includes color photographs, a map and succinct description of each of the 936 archaeological sites, monuments, cities or parks inscribed by UNESCO from 1978 to 2012. Organized by order or inscription (Galapagos was the first), this fourth edition includes the 25 sites added in 2011, from the villages and pastoral landscape of the Cevannes in south-central France (so eloquently described in Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey in the Cevannes) to historic Bridgetown in Barbados, the grand Cathedral in Leon, Nicaragua, Fort Jesus (Mombasa) and the Ningaloo coast of remote western Australia. (CON53, $29.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.